Silver anniversary gift

Oct. 9, 2013

Updated 1:00 p.m.

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Chapman University women's volleyball coach Mary Cahill is in her 25th season at the school. She is the longest tenured volleyball coach in the program's history. CHRISTINE COTTER, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Mary Cahill has been Chapman's women's volleyball coach since 1989. She has won more than 400 matches at the school and has made the postseason 10 times since taking over. CHRISTINE COTTER, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Chapman University women's volleyball coach Mary Cahill is in her 25th season at the school. She is the longest tenured volleyball coach in the program's history. CHRISTINE COTTER, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Mary Cahill, by the numbers

25: Seasons

6: 20-win seasons

403: Wins (as of Monday)

57: Career winning percentage (as of Monday)

18: Winning seasons (10 straight)

10: Postseason appearances

12: All-Americans

3: American Volleyball Coaches Association Academic Team awards

Bronzed plaques on the south wall of Chapman University’s Baldwin Family Pavilion honor each of the school’s major athletic contributors.

Mary Cahill’s two-year career as a Chapman volleyball player earned her a plaque.

Her 25-year-and-counting career as a Chapman volleyball coach could very well earn her a second.

“My whole life has flown by, it really has,” she said. “Twenty-five years here have gone by really fast.”

Cahill, 49, has helmed the women’s volleyball program for a quarter-century.

The Orange native won her 400th career match on Sept. 27. As of press time, Chapman, which plays in Division III, was 13-6.

“Makes me feel old,” she joked. “I don’t feel like I’ve been (coaching) as long as I have. I’ve just been lucky enough to have some good athletes through these 25 years.

“The players you get here … I’ve been fortunate enough to have athletes that know the balance between academics and athletics.”

Cahill, the third eldest of seven siblings, was a three-sport star at Orange High, shining in volleyball, basketball and track.

While in high school, Cahill coached volleyball at Yorba Junior High, her former middle school.

“I always wanted to coach, but I never knew which sport,” she said. “Somehow, I ended up coaching volleyball.”

Golden West College welcomed Cahill into its volleyball program in 1982.

She played two seasons at Golden West. At Chapman, Cahill was a 1985 Academic All-American.

“A lot of people don’t understand how much time is spent in athletics,” she said. “There’s a lot of study time missed, a lot of social time missed. Playing sports in college requires a lot of time besides the amount of time you put in to actually play.”

Cahill spent roughly two years as a substitute teacher for the Orange Unified School District after she graduated in 1986. She also served as an assistant volleyball coach at Chapman and El Modena High.

Chapman, then in Division II, hired her to be its women’s volleyball coach before the 1989-90 fall season.

Cahill was 24.

Her first two Panthers teams won 27 and 22 matches, respectively, and reached the NCAA playoffs.

Over her tenure, Cahill has seen the game evolve.

Athletes have gotten stronger. Recruiting has become amplified. Even the sport itself has seen an uptick in pace and intensity.

One thing that Cahill hasn’t seen change in 25 years: The institution’s commitment to academic and athletic excellence.

“These women come in as freshman, sometimes wide-eyed, not sure about what they want to do, and to see them, by the time they’re seniors, grow into confident young women, ready to face the world, I really enjoy that process,” she said.

With a longstanding tradition of success and the school’s all-time wins record, it begs the question …

How much longer do you see yourself on the sideline?

“I don’t know,” Cahill said. “I just love coaching, and I still enjoy it. I enjoy working with the athletes. I can’t answer that question just yet because coaching volleyball is still really fun.”

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